Thoughts before reading:
Ugh, I'm already so tired of hearing about Jeremy that I don't think I can even stand this book. I don't care if Claudia gets "her guy" or not in the slightest. I hate the way this little douchebag is bouncing between Claudia and Stacey with no idea what he wants, and no concern for the trouble he's caused. He doesn't deserve either of them, and I'm still baffled as to why they're fighting over him. Is it just his good looks? He seems bland and dull, not to mention not very bright.
The basics:
Mary Anne tells Claudia that Stacey and Jeremy broke up, prompting her to spend all weekend obsessing about him. On Monday, she wears a special outfit to school in an attempt to impress him, but he doesn't even stop to talk to her all day. She's crushed, and as he avoids her all day, she keeps obsessing all the more.
Claudia and Erica have still been hanging out too, and the girls are now volunteering for a program at SMS where kids with work immigrant families. Claudia's assigned to a family from Japan, the Yashimotos. Along with an adult volunteer, she'll help them with learning English and basic skills, like shopping.
There's also a Valentine's day dance coming up, and as the school week wears on, Claudia obsesses more and more over asking Jeremy to be her date. She decides to write him a note (not a great idea for her, in my opinion!). Thankfully, she uses spellcheck. After all her careful planning though, she ends up dropping the note into the wrong locker. Horrified, she enlists help from Kristy, who gets Cary Retlin to break into the locker for her. Of course, it turns out to belong to none other than Alan Gray. He gets it open, but the note is gone.
Alan thinks the note was really for him, because Claudia didn't include Jeremy's name (because she didn't know how to spell it...). He's flattered that she's seen past all the joking and goofy behavior to the real him, and says yes to going to the dance. Claudia can't hurt his feelings, especially when he's being sincere for once, so she agrees to go. Kristy gives her a hard time, but Mary Anne and Stacey understand. (Stacey even says he's kind of cute, probably just to be nice, haha.)
When Jeremy hears about Claudia and Alan, he's upset. (Wtf right does he have to be angry? He hasn't even spoken a word to Claudia since he broke up with Stacey, and prior to that, he knew she liked him, but went ahead and dated her best friend instead of her, without even talking to her first or letting her down easy. I HATE this guy!) Even when she explains the mix-up with the note to him, he just says it's her problem, then walks off.
This same day, Alan leaves a huge flower bouquet at Claudia's locker, then surprises her with a romantic lunch in an empty classroom, complete with sprite "champagne", candlesticks, and Burger King. (This is actually a cute scene.) There's even hostess cakes for dessert. Claudia's touched by the gesture.
Stacey and Claudia end up talking again, apologizing, and agreeing to move on and be friends. Stacey even tells her that Jeremy broke up with her because he liked Claudia.
Jeremy, however, goes on avoiding Claudia, while Alan showers her with gifts and compliments. Jeremy ends up asking Emily to the dance.
The night of the dance, Claudia's having fun dancing with Alan when Jeremy cuts in. They slow dance together, during which she realizes they have more of a friend vibe, and she'd actually rather be dancing with Alan. There's just no spark at all. (If only she could have realized this sooner!!) Jeremy notices it too, and they both agree to just be friends. Claudia goes to find Alan, and they resume dancing. She feels the fluttery feelings she used to feel with Jeremy, much to her surprise.
Timeline:
It's February.
Misc. thoughts:
*This book opens with a sitting job for the Rodowskys, a rarity in the FF series.
*Was Mr. Kishi always an investment banker? I think we were only told his job once, quite awhile ago, so I can't remember if that's right or not.
*Claudia made Mimi's kimono into a blouse. That's a pretty good idea, actually, but I'm surprised her parents let her cut it up.
*At the beginning of this story, it's still the night of Mr. Z's party, so no time has passed between this book and the last.
*Even though Stacey and Claudia supposedly made up in the last book, Claudia hasn't actually let anything go, and still sounds really angry in her narration. In hers, Stacey had let everything go and wasn't mad at all.
*Claudia wakes up at 7 am everyday for junior high? She's lucky. My middle and high schools both started classes at 7:20 am.
*What ever happened to Claudia's 7th grade friends? They were important to her for a brief while, but they've vanished in this new series.
*Claudia eats combos in here! I so remember those and loved them when I was a kid in the 90s. They sound kind of gross now though, like so many childhood snack foods.
*Claudia has Monet stationary.
*I had high hopes for the FF books, but I'm not liking them at all, except for some of the changes I've mentioned before (less babysitting, more character focus, more adults around). They are boring, read like fan fiction, and they ruin other things I liked about the BSC books. Worst of all, the characters are like caricatures of their original selves. I don't even like FF Stacey, my favorite character. FF Claudia is pathetic and annoying. Kristy and Mary Anne, however, two characters I really didn't like, are actually a little better in these.
*Cell phones and internet have entered the BSC-verse with no fanfare, but I still remember Claudia freaking out about getting her first cordless phone.
*Kristy complains about Alan Gray sticking straws up his nose, yet she did the same thing in Stacey vs. the BSC.
*When Stacey and Claudia do talk in here, it's weird and awkward. Stacey asks her about Jeremy, but Claudia says she isn't comfortable talking to her about it. They still have a long way to go before having their best friendship back.
*There's an Egyptian temple in the Met? That's awesome, I'd never heard of this before. (Temple of Dendur.) I've since looked into it, and for those into art or history, it's a really interesting story.
*Alan was really sweet to Claudia in here, and so genuinely happy that someone saw the "real" him, that I almost liked them together. The problem is, he wasn't just a goofy class clown type all this time. Quite often, he was genuinely a bully or a real asshole, and he had quite a mean streak. I can't just forget all that and get behind this. I think he's just thrilled that a girl likes him and is trying to be what she wants.
*Ghostwritten by Ellen Miles.
*Claudia decides to learn Japanese after her experience working with the Yashimotos.
Books mentioned:
None
My rating:
3 stars. This was one of the better FF books so far, mainly because it was 100% different than I expected. I'm thrilled that Jeremy and Claudia never end up dating. He doesn't deserve her, I want him out of the series ASAP, and if they dated her and Stacey would get back their friendship much more slowly. Even if it's Alan Gray, I'm thrilled that this ended up being about her choosing a different guy over Jeremy instead. I didn't see that coming. For once, her poor spelling skills save the day!
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